Analysts say the Iron Dome missile defense system is one of the most important tools in Israel's arsenal and has saved countless civilian lives in various conflicts over the past decade.

The Israel Defense Forces said the system had a 95.6 percent success rate in intercepting a barrage of rockets fired by the Islamic Jihad group in May.

Development of Iron Dome first began in 2007. After tests in 2008 and 2009, the system was first deployed in 2011 and has been upgraded several times since.

Iron Dome is designed to shoot down incoming missiles. It uses radar to detect missiles, then uses command and control systems to quickly calculate whether an incoming projectile poses a threat or is likely to hit a populated area. If the missile does pose a threat, Iron Dome fires a missile from the ground to destroy the airborne target.

To civilians, a direct interception sounds like a huge explosion and can sometimes be felt on the ground.

According to Raytheon and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, there are 10 Iron Dome batteries across Israel, each consisting of three to four launchers. The system is highly mobile and takes only a few hours to set up, and the missile interceptors themselves are highly mobile.

The warhead is believed to carry 11kg of high explosives, with a strike range of between 4km and 70km, security analyst group IHS Jane's said.

It is important to note that unlike air defense systems designed to intercept ballistic missiles, Iron Dome specializes in intercepting low-altitude rockets, the type commonly fired by militant groups in Gaza.

During a war, the cost of operating Iron Dome can add up quickly. Each missile costs around $40,000, so intercepting thousands of missiles would cost Israel a huge amount of money.

A US official told CNN that Israel will likely request additional interceptor missiles in addition to other military assistance from Washington following the October 7 attack.

Quoc Thien (according to CNN)